Let me be honest from the start. This isn't an easy subject to bring up today

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Many churches are struggling financially. Not because they don't love missions, but because their people are struggling. Groceries cost more. Rent and mortgages cost more. Families who used to give comfortably are now watching every dollar.

So I'm not writing to pile guilt on any pastor or any church. I know the pressure is real. I simply want to ask a question worth praying about. Could we give our missionaries a raise this year, even a small one?

The Grace That Gave First

Before we talk about our giving, look at His.

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."  2 Corinthians 8:9

Paul wrote that line right in the middle of asking a church to give. He didn't start with a budget or a guilt trip. He started with Jesus.

That's the right order. We don't give to get God's attention or to earn His favor. We already have both. We give because Jesus gave everything for us, and His grace opens our hands.

Nobody Gets By Long Without a Raise

Think about the average American employee. If they went year after year without a raise, they'd feel it. Every year, things cost a little more, and their paycheck buys a little less. Eventually something would have to give.

It's exactly the same for a missionary. When their support stays the same year after year, they're slowly falling behind. The cost of living on the field goes up just like it does here. Rent, fuel, school fees for the kids, and airfare home all climb. Sometimes a change in exchange rates can bite into their budget overnight.

And here's the hard part. Many missionaries aren't just standing still. They're losing support. The same financial pressure churches feel at home can lead some to cut back or drop missionaries altogether. A missionary might get a letter saying a church can no longer support them, with no warning and no replacement in sight.

Scripture says plainly,

"The labourer is worthy of his reward" (1 Timothy 5:18).

Our missionaries have given their lives to the work. A raise is one way of saying, "We see you, and we're still with you."

Even a Small Amount Matters

You may be thinking, "We can't do much." That's okay. It doesn't have to be much.

Any support helps the missionary and the church, even if it's a small amount. Ten or twenty-five dollars a month may not sound like a lot. But when several churches do it, it adds up. And even when one church does it alone, it tells a missionary family they haven't been forgotten.

A raise also blesses the giving church. It keeps missions in front of your people. It reminds everyone that the work overseas is still growing, and that your church is still part of it.

A Few Practical Ideas

Review your missionary support once a year. Missions conference is a natural time to do it.

Before adding new missionaries, consider whether you can strengthen the ones you already support. Sometimes a small raise for faithful families does more good than spreading the budget thinner.

When your missions giving grows, set aside part of that growth for raises. And when you do give a raise, send a note with it. Let the missionary know why. A few kind words can mean as much as the dollars.

What Struggling Churches Can Learn From Macedonia

Some of the Bible's most generous believers were also among the poorest. Paul described the churches in Macedonia this way:

"How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality."  2 Corinthians 8:2

Deep poverty. Abundant joy. Rich generosity. Those three things don't usually go together, but grace can bring them together.

And Paul made sure no one felt pressured beyond what they had:

"For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not" (2 Corinthians 8:12).

God isn't asking your church to give what it doesn't have. He looks at the heart. A small raise from a struggling church, given with a willing mind, is precious to Him.

The Greatest Investment a Church Can Make

Missions is the heartbeat of God.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son" (John 3:16).

From the beginning, His heart has been for the nations. When a church invests in missions, it invests in what God cares about most.

"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."  2 Corinthians 9:6

That harvest isn't measured in bigger bank accounts. It's measured in people saved, churches planted, and leaders trained in places that never had a gospel witness. It's fruit that lasts forever.

Paul told the Philippians, who supported him faithfully,

"Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account" (Philippians 4:17).

When you give to missionaries, God credits the fruit of their work to you, too.

And notice the very next verse after 2 Corinthians 9:6.

"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7).

No pressure. No guilt. Just a glad heart giving what it has.

God Is Able

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work."  2 Corinthians 9:8

Your church may be facing a tight year. So are your missionaries. But the same God who supplies their needs can supply yours. He has never once run short.

So pray about it. Look at your missionary list. Ask the Lord whether there's a family you could encourage with a raise this year, even a small one. You may be surprised by how far a little goes when you place it in His hands.

I'd love to hear how your church handles missionary raises. Do you review support every year? What has worked for you? Write back and tell me. If these practical helps for pastors, missionaries, and church leaders encourage you, subscribe to Ministry by Mercy so the next one comes straight to your inbox. Let's keep strengthening the hands of those who go.

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